My Ming Dynasty, I have the final say

Chapter 189 Tax Sharing Reform

"what!"

With an exclamation, Zhu Youxiao woke up from his dream.

"what happened?"

Awakened by the exclamations around her, Xu Waner opened her eyes and looked at the emperor sitting on the bed.

"Nothing, I just had a nightmare."

Reaching out and patting Xu Waner's shoulder, Zhu Youxiao turned around and went to the ground, took the clothes on the hanger, stepped on his shoes and walked out of the inner room.

"What time is it?"

In the outer room, there is naturally a young eunuch keeping vigil here.

"Go back to your Majesty, it's already a quarter past three."

Seeing the emperor coming out with his clothes on, the little eunuch quickly picked up the cloak and put it on the emperor.

"..."

Letting the eunuch put the cloak on him, Zhu Youxiao strolled out of the main hall and stood at the door of the hall.

Looking at the silent Xiyuan, Zhu Youxiao's heart flashed with a hint of haze.

Niang Xipi, he dreamed that Li Chuangjin led people to invade the capital, and he hung himself from the crooked neck tree in Meishan.

Not far from Beijing, Zu Dashou had already led the Qing army into the pass.

Zhu Youxiao shook his head and got rid of the plot in his mind.

"How can this Zu Dashou be used?"

After muttering something in his mouth, Zhu Youxiao felt helpless.

I was on horseback patrol all day yesterday and I was sweating all over. I thought I could have a good sleep.

Unexpectedly, I had a nightmare the night I returned to Beijing.

"Has yesterday's memorial arrived?"

After standing for a while, Zhu Youxiao suddenly asked the little eunuch beside him.

"Go back to your Majesty, it's been delivered."

After hearing the emperor's question, the little eunuch immediately answered.

"Serve me to change my clothes."

After a simple wash, Zhu Youxiao read the memorial to be reviewed today in his study.

The eunuchs in charge of rituals have not done much cleaning, and most of them are old people from the Wanli period.

Although it can't be said to be easy to use, it can at least suit his purpose.

"This is?"

After briefly reviewing a few memorials, Zhu Youxiao noticed the booklet among a pile of memorials.

"Go back to your Majesty, this is the "Constitutional Affairs" sent by Zhou Shangshu."

Hearing this, Liu Shimin, who had already arrived at the emperor's side and was on duty, replied in a low voice.

"This is the way my Ming Dynasty Metropolitan Procuratorate operates."

"How does the Metropolitan Procuratorate operate?"

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao was surprised.

This Zhou Yingqiu is really a roundworm in his stomach.

He just said that he would personally supervise the six subjects, and then he sent the rules and regulations of the Section Dao Officer.

"Have a heart."

After praising it, Zhu Youxiao opened "Xianggang Shi Lei" and started reading.

"Xianggang Shi Lei" belongs to one volume of "Zhu Si Zhi Zhang".

Zhu Yuanzhang initially decided it, and Xuanzong and Yingzong added and subtracted its contents, and finally formed the "Constitutional Matters".

It is divided into thirty-four articles of the "Constitution", fifteen articles of the "Constitution", four articles of "Etiquette for Meetings on Tours", thirty-six articles of "Instances of Tours", six articles of "Brushing Rules", a total of ninety-five articles. .

The supervisory laws and regulations of the Ming Dynasty can be described as diverse.

One is that there are many regulations on supervisory officials, including detailed regulations on inspection dates, deadlines, offices, finances, and etiquette when meeting local officials, as well as on the daily life, speech and behavior of supervisors.

Another is that the power given to supervisory officials is too great, which is like pulling a large cart from a small one.

Secondly, the powers of the Ombudsman are quite broad, and they are suspected of usurping administrative power.

The censors have the power to intervene in everything from how many lonely old people there are in the city to the fights between villages, let alone some major events.

This also led to the fact that in the late Ming Dynasty, there were always censors who came to do the official affairs.

"The Supervision Law needs to be revised, and the entire supervision team needs to be reshaped."

After reading for a while, Zhu Youxiao sighed and pushed "Xianggang Shi Lei" under a pile of books.

Can't care.

"Let the news out that I have a copy of "Constitutional Matters" in hand. I want all the officials to know."

"My slave takes orders."

After looking at the emperor who continued to review the memorial, Liu Shimin called his godson and asked him to send a message to Wei Zhongxian.

Let Dongchang do this kind of thing.

"Your Majesty, Xiao Yong is here."

While the emperor was drinking porridge and reading the memorial, a eunuch came in to report.

"Xuan."

With a wave of his hand, Zhu Youxiao had someone call Xiao Yong in.

"Xiao Yong, a common man, comes to see Your Majesty."

As soon as he entered the gate, Xiao Yong knelt down and jumped in quickly.

"What kind of performance art is this?"

Seeing Xiao Yong's actions, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

"Be flat."

After waving his hand to signal the other party to get up, Zhu Youxiao asked straight to the point.

"I am very satisfied with the supplies you gave to Beijing Camp last time."

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs has something, I have some ideas, and I need you to do something. Are you willing?"

"The grassroots are willing."

Without even knowing what to do, Xiao Yong nodded hurriedly in response.

What is the current status of Zhao Shuang, the iron merchant?

Imperial Merchant with a three-pin red top from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

On weekdays, he always kept his eyes on the top of his head when traveling, which made him and Zheng Tuo envious.

They were all the same people who donated materials to Xu Guangqi's new army.

You asked how he got into the official system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Now, it's finally my turn.

"I want you to build some places for me."

Seeing this, Zhu Youxiao was not surprised.

These days, there is no shortage of people who want to be the emperor's dog.

Instructing the young eunuch to start recording, Zhu Youxiao directly told Zhao Shuang about the arrangements at the garment factory.

I have never seen a pig run away, but I have eaten pork.

In later antitrust investigations, there was a type of investigation called the trust model. In layman's terms, everything from production to sales is completed by one company.

By producing one product, one company in the entire industry chain can be self-sufficient, and costs will be reduced to a terrifying level.

"When building a factory, don't just build one factory. Weaving, dyeing, and tailoring must be done by arranging people to do these things."

"Split the entire production process into small links, and assign certain people to each link."

"Just like this weaving, the person who reels is only responsible for reeling the silk, and the person who weaves the thread is only responsible for weaving the thread."

Standing under the emperor, Xiao Yong listened with wide eyes to the emperor's assembly line production method.

"Your Majesty, if you want to do this, I'm afraid it will require a considerable scale to be profitable."

After listening to the emperor's narration, Xiao Yong frowned and said cautiously.

"Cao Min's factory is a small factory, I'm afraid there aren't that many workers."

"If there is no one, go and recruit them. I will give you one hundred thousand taels of silver, and you can build the factory for me."

Picking up the tea cup and taking a sip, Zhu Youxiao said indifferently to Xiao Yong.

"Ignoring the rest for now, you have to produce the military uniforms and quilts of the Ming Dynasty."

"Oh, I understand." Xiao Yong immediately responded when he heard that the emperor gave him money, not to use the family wealth to work.

Just when the emperor was planning to establish a monopoly enterprise in the garment industry.

In Baoquan Bureau, Zhao Han looked at the clerk in front of him with cannibalistic eyes.

"Or was it all wiped out as soon as it was released?"

"Sir, I went to the bank to see the money. As soon as the door of the bank opened, those people rushed to exchange money."

"How much money do people have in savings?"

Standing on the steps with a thin figure and red eyes, Zhao Han was puzzled.

"It didn't count when it was first minted, but after the production increased, 30,000 pieces of silver were exchanged to the private sector every day for three months. How could anyone still rob it?"

Thirty thousand a day is 2.7 million in three months.

Even if there were one million people in the capital, it would still be enough for each person to receive more than two silver coins.

What's more, there are also outflow channels such as official salaries and court purchases of supplies.

How come people keep snatching it?

"I have inquired about it, and the Shuntian Mansion has already announced that this year's tax collection must be paid in real grain, or in silver coins and copper coins, and no broken silver will be collected."

The little official said, helplessly spreading his hands.

"So, now it's not just the people in the city who are rushing to redeem them, there are also people who specially collect these silver coins and transport them to the countryside to exchange them for silver coins."

"Ok?"

Hearing this, Zhao Han's eyes suddenly widened.

News that the emperor was going to restart the ban on gold and silver had been circulating among the upper echelons of the imperial court, but no official document had been issued yet saying that the ban on silver coins would be stopped.

Where did this news come from?

Moreover, there are actually people who specialize in exchanging silver coins for ordinary people.

He could guess with his butt that these people would definitely consume more fire.

"Go and inquire carefully to see how much it costs these people to exchange silver for the common people, and how many people are doing this job."

Stroking his beard, Zhao Han suddenly realized that he had found a place to perform meritorious service.

"Yes!"

After hearing this, Chang Sui cupped his hands and left.

He returned to the class room and sat down on the chair. Although he was very tired, Zhao Han took out a piece of rice paper and started writing a memorial on it.

"Time, place, people."

Thinking about the emperor's new memorial regulations for courtiers, Zhao Han began to write the memorial.

After writing for a full quarter of an hour, Zhao Han stopped writing.

On the rice paper in front of him, there were many empty spaces.

These places cannot be filled in until the Chang Sui investigation is completed.

Next, Zhao Han will start his daily routine inspection work.

This job in Baoquan Bureau is really not done by humans.

Apart from anything else, just keeping an eye on his subordinates and keeping their hands busy is not an easy job.

Now the emperor gives officials substantial salaries, and the investigation of corruption is more stringent than in previous decades.

Officials were killed for corruption every month, and he didn't want to follow in those people's footsteps.

While Zhao Han was investigating.

Dong Yingju, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, entered the palace with the memorial.

After entering the main hall and going through the general meeting process.

Dong Yingju handed his memorial to the eunuch, while he stood in the middle of the hall.

"Your Majesty, since the founding of our dynasty, Taizu has treated the people of the world harshly with heavy taxes in the former Yuan Dynasty, so the taxes he has set are the lowest in the history of the dynasty, only thirty taxes per cent."

"However, although the tax is light, the tax transfer requires the people to transport it to the county seat, where it is drifted away by subordinates and corrupt officials. It can be said that there are many drawbacks."

"Your Majesty now appoints rural officials to transport and collect taxes. I think this is a good thing."

After summarizing the emperor's political reforms, Dong Yingju asked about the purpose of coming today.

"Of course, which yamen is responsible for transporting the taxes from the county to the state capital and then to the capital?"

"The inspection bureau will be responsible for the tax escort."

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao touched his chin and thought about it.

Today's taxes are mainly handled by the guards' soldiers. There are almost 120,000 people in various guards responsible for this matter every year.

“After the township officials collect taxes, they are escorted to the county seat, and then escorted to the state capital by officials from the county inspection bureau and government officials. After arriving at the state capital, the state capital’s inspection department is responsible for sending people to escort them to the provincial government office, and then the provincial government office He was escorted to the capital."

"I understand."

After telling the tax escort route he had conceived, Zhu Youxiao continued.

"However, this is all a matter for the future. At present, the Shuntian Inspection Bureau is directly responsible for escorting the taxes collected by the counties in Shuntian Prefecture."

Hearing this, Dong Yingju nodded.

"Speaking of the tax transportation, I think there is something I should have said a few days ago."

Putting down the tea cup in his hand, Zhu Youxiao looked at Dong Ying and raised it.

"I think deeply about the withholding of taxes in various places and think it is bad governance. It is no longer appropriate."

"From now on, 30% of Shuntian Prefecture's taxes will be retained by the local government and 70% will be sent to the state."

"Your Majesty, our government's taxes have always been retained by the local government for use in the next year, and the remaining taxes are then handed over to the court."

Hearing this, Dong Yingju was shocked.

This is a direct infringement of local property rights.

There are many differences between Ming Dynasty and Zhao Song Dynasty.

Zhao and Song Dynasty implemented a policy of strong cadres and weak branches. All taxes were transported to Kaifeng and then shipped according to the expenses reported by local yamen.

This resulted in the weakness of the local government. In addition, the Song Dynasty had the highest taxes in history, and rebellions occurred all year round. As a result, strange incidents often occurred, in which rebels broke into county offices.

In the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that it would be too troublesome to bring all the money to the capital and divide it for local use. This was not a waste of money, so leave some room for it.

In order to ensure that local budgets are not spent randomly, grain transportation and budgets need to be reconciled with the Ministry of Household Affairs.

Then he cashed out a blank seal case.

Although he severely punished the empty seal case, Zhu Yuanzhang did not change his policy of tax withholding.

Because it ensures the capacity of local government, it can play a good role in preventing civil unrest and natural disasters.

In order to prevent the recurrence of such things as the empty seal case, the Jin Yiwei was born to supervise the officials and supervise the local area.

But by this time, supervision has long been empty talk, local taxes have basically become fixed quotas, and the court has been directly fooled.

Looking at the emperor, Dong Yingju asked cautiously.

"Seventy percent of the money will be turned over to the state. Is there anything wrong with this?"

"What is the situation in the local area? I am like a blind man trying to figure out the elephant."

Zhu Youxiao did not answer Dong Yingju's question directly, but leaned on his chair and said.

"In the capital, under my nose, corruption continues to be banned."

"In the local area, the sky is high and the emperor is far away. Who knows how they did it and whether there was corruption."

"Did they overcharge the tax amount set by the court? Did they overpay for the next year's budget?"

"You don't know these things, I don't know, and the court doesn't know either."

With that said, Zhu Youxiao touched the ring on his hand, looked at Dong Yingju and said.

"Take Shuntian Mansion as an example. Let's try this first."

"The minister obeys the order."

“It’s hard to start a business, and it’s even harder to keep a business.”

Looking at Dong Yingju standing in the hall, Principal Zhu You sighed.

"It has been more than two hundred years since the Ming Dynasty. Some serious diseases require great effort to eradicate."

"The road is a long way to go, and I will go up and down to find out."

"Dong Aiqing, please take it seriously."

"I sincerely obey your Majesty's instructions."

Upon hearing this, Dong Yingju's eyes turned red and he immediately fell to the ground and worshiped.

The emperor asked him if he could serve the country and the people like Qu Yuan.

(End of this chapter)